The Baker’s Alphabet
Jul 12th, 2009 by Marilyn
Why are we detouring into the nursery? Well. When Josie was very small, and I was very tired but she was not, I’d walk the floors with her in the dark, and make stuff up. Nonsense murmuring stuff, like this – a rhyming stream of bakery talk. Yes. I was one whacked-out sleepy caterer.
Why am I doing it again? We recently unearthed a few notes from those days, and I decided to revisit, and finish the doodling I’d started some twelve years ago. This update is a gift for a friend, someone expecting her first, someone who will also tread floors and will, perhaps, find the need to recite baked goods. I was always amazed how the silly muffin-and-pie mantra soothed us both, rocked her to sleep and kept me awake. It also seems to work on small, sweets-loving kids, goofy adults and a few chatty, sugar-looped bakers.
A is sweet on apples, that fall into the pie
B melts into butter, and makes the muffins sigh
Carrots from the garden, deployed to make the cake
D’s are for the donuts when you don’t know what to bake
Elephant ears are flaky (you can say palmiers, too)
F is for the fritter that has nothing else to do
G is for galettes, swirling summer, dripping fruit
H is for hamantaschen, three-cornered cookie loot
I is pie in the icebox – it’s lemon, sweet and cold
Jam befriends the sponge cake and they build a jelly roll
K is always Key lime – should be yellow, never green!
L is for the lattice that keeps red berries seen
Macarons are le favorite, a Paris souvenir
Napoleon’s gone forever, but his treat still lingers there
O is for Oh So Many, a hundred cookies that we ate
P is for the nice plain pears we’ll eat to clean the slate
Q is for Queen Mother’s Cake, from Maida Heatter’s book
R is for the recipe our dog’s jaws sadly took
Scones are a craggy compass, to point us through the day
Tea is their companion (though not the American way)
U loves umeboshi, Japanese fruit that’s pickled tart
V is for vanilla, pure and closest to the heart
W sings out welcome, which is what cakes tend to say
X is for the extra slice you might get on that day
Y is for golden egg yolks, like whisking in the sun
and Zzz’s are heard at daybreak…
…when the bakery work’s begun.
Absolutely delightful!
Ahhh, what sweet sounds to share with a beloved baby in the middle of the night. You should definitely make this into a children’s book to be printed and sold so everyone can share the treats with their little ones.
I love it! It’s so beautiful and sweet. I second the idea that this should be turned into a children’s book!
Your talent never ceases to amaze me. I would love to have a whisk with a “Y” handle. You should publish this in book form so that children can delight in turning the page and seeing what comes next!
Wow, this is lovely! What a wonderful idea. Please please please consider publishing it so we can all enjoy a copy!
how totally creative! your sketches are amazing. i especially like the donuts, just because they look so appetizing. and the napoleon with the hat. nice work.
Now there’s a book!
Lovely! Should definitely be published with the sweet illustrations.
Much nicer than how I used to lull my kids back to sleep…by singing Bruce Springsteen songs!
love.
it.
so.
You guys are so sweet, and much too kind. You’ve got to fill the late walking-around hours with something; anyone here have their own stories to share from those days?
Donuts. Sigh…
Love these, Mar – and it explains why when you visited us when Josie was three or so, and we played alphabet games to while away the car rides, she startled me by knowing so many baked treats with unusual names, such as E is for Elephant Ears.
I used to make up extra verses to “Hush little baby” while I was trying to get Jordi down to sleep. I remember that one verse had “mama’s gonna buy you a giant peach, and if that peach has got no fuzz” but can’t recall the rest.
These are great! I wish I didn’t desire to hang these in my kitchen. Well, I wish I had the wall space to hang them, so I could beg you to let me!
Lovely. I love all the illustrations, especially Napoleon’s hat. Pitch this as a book idea!!
Marilyn, I’m so glad you brought this to my attention. So sweet and lively and lovely and just — exuberant! Energetic! THANK YOU. Mentioned it on Twitter and on FB. The drawings really sparkle with energy and joy.
Thanks, my friends! Also, a big special welcome to the wonderful Crescent Dragonwagon. Your very kind words made me smile.
Adorable! Love the drawings!
What a delightful gem of a rhyme.
You are wonderfully creative. What heart warming rhymes, with bee-yoo-ti-ful sketches to match. Your post took me back to the tiring days when my kids were little & the hub would rattle non-sensicals to calm them, all night long at times!
Charming! I wish I’d had this when my 1st was born ( who woke up every 2 hours)…….
I love love love this. Makes me want to illustrate it and bind it into a book for the Nuni.
…and I bet Josie will sing this to her children as well.
Brilliant! Over the past five years, my daughter and I have devoured several hundred children’s books. This would rank in my top five. I love the way you play with words. I’m grateful for your blog, a place where words matter.
I also chuckled at “K”. What’s up with dying foods to give them a makeover? I still remember when they dyed pistachios red. I think, they’re quite beautiful in their natural state.
That’s awesome Mar! I love it!
how sweet.
Love it.
I have to agree, Marilyn. With just a little bit of editing, I think this ditty has a good shot at becoming a winner picture book. Who knew what strokes of brilliance a whacked-out sleepy caterer could come up with in the wee hours of the morning?!!
excellent alphabet…I love K…key lime…yes,that will do me fine
)
Just beautiful and so meaningful coming from you!
Lovely, move over Maria Kalman, here comes Marilyn.
Thanks all of you for such kind words.
Kate: sweet, but silly to whisper my name – or any others! – in the same breath with Maira Kalman. She’s my creative ideal. A genius in words, pictures, and the ideas she creates between them. I have admired her work for years.
trying to catch up on some blog reading, and was delighted to see this post Marilyn. Fabulous in both mediums.
Oh, how glorious: A baker’s alphabet. And right on time since I was looking for a new way to teach my best-friend’s little boys their letters. Delicious and wonderful, this idea. Cakes do say “welcome,” don’t they? Lovely.
Wandered in from Coal Creek Farm.
Fabulous, fabulous poem/sketches! I’m thinking William Sonoma needs to publish and sell your book in their store.
On the sleepless baby thing–I so remember those nights of feeling like I was the only person on the planet that wasn’t sleeping. At least you were murmuring sweet poems into your baby’s ears, I was growling sweet nothings
you made me smile.. thank you